Edward A. Kawananakoa
dies at 72

Many in the Hawaiian community saw Edward A. Keliiahonui "Dudie" Kawananakoa as the senior heir to the throne of the Hawaiian kingdom had it continued to today.

Others described Kawananakoa, 72, a grandson of Prince David Kawananakoa and great-grandson of James Campbell, as a charitable man who gave to the community.

Kawananakoa died of cancer Tuesday morning in St. Francis Hospice.

"I think he's had an influence on so many people's lives," said his son Quentin K. Kawananakoa, a state representative.

"He's certainly a man of great generosity, wisdom and caring, a very compassionate man. All of our family and friends will sorely miss him, but we all know he's in a far better place now," he said.

Born Oct. 2, 1924, in San Francisco to Abigail Kapiolani Kawananakoa and her first husband, Andrew A. Lambert, Kawananakoa once said he didn't really think about his stature in the Hawaiian community and just considered himself a "good American citizen."

Kawananakoa, his sisters Poomaikelani Kawananakoa and Kapiolani Marignoli, and cousin Abigail K.K. Kawananakoa are considered by some historians to be Hawaii's senior alii because they are descendants of King Kalakaua and Queen Kapiolani.

Poomaikelani Kawananakoa remembers a quote from her brother in an old Punahou yearbook that aptly describes him: "Dudie would never be without a friend." "And it's been true throughout his life," she said.

A graduate of Punahou School, Edward Kawananakoa left Hawaii in 1942 for Menlo Junior College. A year later he volunteered for the Army Air Corps in San Francisco.

In 1944, he rejected an appointment to West Point to earn a commission as a second lieutenant in the corps. He served as a pilot in World War II.

In 1946, Kawananakoa married Lila de Clark Whitaker and had three children. The couple divorced in 1960 and Kawananakoa later remarried.

He had two children with his second wife, Carolyn.

The family lives in Kaneohe.

Kawananakoa, a University of Southern California graduate, served as a regent for Hale o na Alii o Hawaii Benevolent Society and was a longtime member of the Prince Kuhio Hawaiian Civic Club. He also enjoyed golf.

As an heir to Campbell Estate, he often gave to charity, said C. Dudley Pratt Jr., chairman of the estate's board of trustees.